Getting Started

Getting started

Basic Searching

Using Library Search is like searching the Web, so start by simply entering a few keywords into the search box.

Because Library Search looks through a huge database of resources, the number of results retrieved by a search is usually high. You can combat this by using the options in the Refine Your Search column on the left of the results screen.

The basic facets are:

Refine Your Search

Full text online - limits your search to material available online and with full text (journal articles, ebooks, etc.)

Limiting your search by Content Type (e.g. books, journals, journal articles etc) allows you to look for the kind of publication that is most likely to contain the information you need.

As a general rule, use books and ebooks for a broad overview at the beginning of your research, then look for journal articles that give you more detailed information and examples.

Note: for streamed videos check the Web Resources type

Subject (Discipline) terms

This section allows you to filter by subject terms or tags associated with the results. This is a good option for narrowing your results more closely to your topic.

Note: the more you refine a search by Discipline, the more discipline-related Subject Terms will become available.

Publication date

Move the sliders to select only the results that were published in a given date range. You can also set the date manually using the date boxes below.

Library Location

If you want to know what stock a particular location has, i.e. Law Library or Kimberlin, just select the sites you are interested in.

Note: selecting any of these locations will exclude all electronic resources from the results.

Language

Use this to narrow down your search to materials in a particular language.

Tips:

To see what to select to refine your search to find full text journal articles, or just books, check out the right-hand box here.

You can also select the down arrow to the right of the search button to use the Advanced Search form to create a more specific query using fielded search options and Boolean operators. Click on the Advanced Search tab above to learn more about advanced searching.

Other features

Other functions on the results page

If you enter new search terms, the refinements you selected on your previous search will apply to your new results page

You can click Clear Filters to remove any refinements you have added and no longer want. Note: the Clear Filters option appears directly above Refine your search only when a refinement has been selected.

At the top left hand corner of your results page you can sort by relevance or date

At the top right hand corner of your results page you will have the option to select Add results beyond your library's collection. Note: please be aware that selecting this option will list resources that we may not have access to

Recommendations and suggestions for other resources to explore (Subject guides, databases etc) may be provided at the top of your results list. These will be identified by this symbol

Tip:If you see an item you are interested in, you can preview it by hovering over the item. A panel with further details of the item will show on the right hand side of the screen. From this panel you can also generate a citation for the item or email the details and a link to the item's full catalogue page.

Viewing results and accessing content

Accessing content

The image/icon and label indicate the type of content and whether the item is available online:

For books and journal titles, clicking on the title link or the Check Availability link will take you to the catalogue page where you can find detailed information about the item including availability and location. You can also reserve the item if it is on loan (not journals). For help with how to find a book on the shelves click here.

For resources available online, such as journal articles, ebooks and electronic resources, click on the Full Text Online / Available Online link. You may be prompted to log in the first time you click on a link. You should use your DMU Single Sign-On details. If for some reason the article fails to load, try clicking on Get additional resources related to this at the top of the page. This will list all the subscriptions we have to the article.

Saving an item to a list

Saving an item to a list

Clicking the folder icon to the right of an item in your results page will save the item to a list.

Click on the larger folder icon at the top right of the screen to see items in your list. From here you can email your list to yourself or print it for future reference.

Tip:Lists are temporary and will be lost at the end of your session (e.g. when you close your browser). However, you can email, print or export the list in your chosen citation format i.e. Harvard, to your reference manager (e.g. RefWorks).

Note: please be aware that the Harvard format may differ slightly from the University's format, always check before submitting your work.